Home gun vaults. Who has one and what’s the do and donts ?

[chaser_2332]

Looking to add a vault to replace a few safes and looking for other peoples experiences.

 

[chaser_2332]

Noone?

 

[riversidejeep]

I've always wanted to build a concrete 10 x 10 room with vault door that's connected to the master bedroom. I live where there is no basements but it seems that would be ideal as you would already have a few walls already done. It would need to be a conditioned space for sure to keep humidity /temp correct. One guy in our town went a little overboard with one . Stainless mesh rebar ,12" thick walls / ceiling etc. but I dont think a tweeker is going to prybar his way in!

 

[TaperPin]

You might look at vault specs for pot shops - these are normally retrofitted into existing rooms and can include a layer or two of metal mesh, heavy plywood, cement board covered with drywall. A hot saw can quickly cut through solid concrete or any kind of wall, so all you can do is keep out the knuckleheads.

Traditional exterior stucco with well attached heavy mesh over heavy plywood is very hard to demo when building house remodel.

Look carefully at the vault door, not just the manufacturer’s literature - many safes and vaults have significant Achilles heals - makes no sense to have bullet proof walls if all it takes to delete the door is a simple hole drilled in the correct place and a coat hanger to trip a lever.

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve seen the blueprints provided by an architect for the state of Nevada requirements for reinforcing pot shop vaults and tried to find it online, but couldn’t.

Many vaults don’t have any reinforcing at all in the walls.

I do know this - 1/2” of mesh reinforced stucco heavily stapled to 5/8” plywood will be too hard to cut with sawzalls or skill saws. A diamond grinder can cut it easily then a skill saw can cut the plywood. A heavy steel expanded mesh under the plywood would greatly slow things down, but is still cutable.

However, if a second layer the same on the inside of the wall - makes It more than twice as hard.

Most vaults we’ve built to architect’s specs pay little attention to the floor or ceiling - smart crooks will check the crawlspace and just cut a hole in the floor.

 

[Ucsdryder]

What about a hidden wall? That would be my plan if I was building a house. Skip all the fancy stuff and just make it unidentifiable.

 

[TaperPin]

What about a hidden wall? That would be my plan if I was building a house. Skip all the fancy stuff and just make it unidentifiable.

Those are cool.

 

[theotherlandon]

Check out Gruffunder or Fort Knox for the door

 

[Red Letters]

I’ve been researching this for awhile, In a perfect world I would form and pour concrete walls and ceiling.
They make prefabricated bolt together metal panels for various size modular units that would work but I don’t love the doors they have.

Safe doors are expensive with a couple cheaper options, however none of them are available local Where I can actually put my hands on. I can’t figure out if it’s worth spending 8k on one of the pricier options or if a 3k door would be adequate.

 

[Phaseolus]

No way I’d consider a basement location. Sooner or later water will be in it.

 

[bpa556]

I’ve been researching this for awhile, In a perfect world I would form and pour concrete walls and ceiling.
They make prefabricated bolt together metal panels for various size modular units that would work but I don’t love the doors they have.

Safe doors are expensive with a couple cheaper options, however none of them are available local Where I can actually put my hands on. I can’t figure out if it’s worth spending 8k on one of the pricier options or if a 3k door would be adequate.

3k door will stop 99.99% of thieves that will break in to the average home. These are home-invasions, smash and grabs and junkies looking to steal for a fix. All are fast-paced shit birds.

The only folks getting through even a mass-market vault door are professional thieves. They know it takes time and time equals risk. Risk vs reward is the game.

They aren’t interested in your gun collection. They’re after cash, precious metals, jewels, bearer bonds, art, titles, etc. (the shit rich folks keep in a vault).

Unless your vault is in a multi-million dollar home that you spend significant time away from, the “cheap” vault door will be more than adequate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Axle]

I do cabinets/trim for my day job, and we have built a number of hidden doors for rooms over the years. Usually it’s some sort of cabinet/bookcase that swings. The homeowners will sometimes put a safe inside the room.

I don’t know what kind of systems the really rich people have. I’m guessing it involves lots of concrete, multiple doors, and a good security system.

If I was setting something up on a ‘budget’ I’d try to do a hidden door, then a concrete or at least hardened room/door behind that. You could put the safe you already own inside the room for your most valuable stuff.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Graffunder would be my choice for the door. Best in the industry IMO.

 

[Theringworm]

Currently in the proces of doing this in our new construction. I think it all depends on what your purpose for the room is. I.e. is it strictly for storm protection, strictly for protecting valuables or a combination of both. Texas Tech University has some great research data on construction requirements etc. that you can reference (for storm/high wind construction that is).

As far as safe door brands, Brown is IMO the best on the market. Graffunder follows closely behind them. Fort Knox and Liberty would be a tier below them but still good options. All just depends on the level of security you want and at what expense.

 

[SWOHTR]

Man, the paranoia of some people. Any lock can be defeated in time. I don’t think the average thief is going to bring a torch, hot saw, or bunker buster with them. Get something heavy and hardened that is tedious to pick.

 

[yfarm]

Have a friend that builds high end homes, built a vault in his own house. Said the one thing he thinks about is a thief holding a pistol to his daughters head telling him to open the door. I am in the camp of decentralized storage given that most thieves want to be in and out quickly. We did have a house on our street that was completely tossed, every drawer and closet emptied. Alarm was disabled, was a weekend house and was hit in the middle of the week. Thieves went in around 1am and left about 3, were obviously looking for a specific item.
Watch this guys video, makes some interesting points

Decentralized Gun Storage System | SecureIt Gun Storage

Decentralized gun storage offers improved security and a tactical advantage through fast access hidden gun safes throughout your home.

www.secureitgunstorage.com

 

[Axle]

Have a friend that builds high end homes, built a vault in his own house. Said the one thing he thinks about is a thief holding a pistol to his daughters head telling him to open the door. I am in the camp of decentralized storage given that most thieves want to be in and out quickly. We did have a house on our street that was completely tossed, every drawer and closet emptied. Alarm was disabled, was a weekend house and was hit in the middle of the week. Thieves went in around 1am and left about 3, were obviously looking for a specific item.
Watch this guys video, makes some interesting points

Decentralized Gun Storage System | SecureIt Gun Storage

Decentralized gun storage offers improved security and a tactical advantage through fast access hidden gun safes throughout your home.

www.secureitgunstorage.com

This is a valid concern. I have heard of people buying a cheap safe and putting a couple guns, a little cash, and some fake jewelry in there. The vault room would be hidden, and you would open the cheap one if you were under duress.
I worked on a place recently that had a big tunnel going from the main house basement out to a detached garage. There are some cool options available if you have the funds for it.

 

[chaser_2332]

What are u guys doing about hvac?

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

I tried to have a concrete room put in our house when we built. It’s entirely concrete except for the door and just above it for the floor trusses. I needed a reverse brick ledge to get it fully concreted in. The door was supposed to be sized for a vault but the concrete guy messed it up and sized it for a regular door.

In the end the wife and I decided any valuables we have were less than the cost of the room/door that we wanted in there to fix it the way I planned. It’s the room under the front stoop.

For HVAC I think they just put it in before concrete is poured or you make a block out for it.

 

[Rich M]

I want a safe room - tornado proof and such. Lock that sucker when not home.

No tweeker is gonna get into a safe - they will go thru the house and grab stuff that can easily be liquidated. Big & heavy are no-go's, as are anything that takes too much time and attention.

BTDT, lost a family heirloom - bought 2 safes, his & hers.

A cheap gun safe is a construction job box. Them things are tough. Got one for my genny.

Also have a metal front door and metal security strips on the doors and frames - we had the local thugs try and kick it in without any success. They bent the door but no access for them.

Yes, the neighborhood gets hit every now and again.